


The playlist

by orphan_account



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, Fluff, Light Angst, Mild Smut, One Shot, Short One Shot, Teen Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-02
Updated: 2019-08-02
Packaged: 2020-07-29 15:15:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,180
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20084323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: A series of zarlie oneshotsbased off of the lyrics to the songs out of my zarlie playlist.listen to the playlist here!: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2kcHJYHeGi0gOKebSyHqtr?si=_NFkzwTwQfOBmzDR6XirHA





	1. KingOfMyHeart.mp3

**Author's Note:**

> It's the first oneshot! This one is based off of 'King of my heart' by Taylor Swift! 
> 
> Where Zari meets Charlie on the rooftop of a party neither of them wanted to be at.

**‘Up on the roof with a schoolgirl crush, drinking beer out of plastic cups, say you fancy me not fancy stuff, baby all at once this is enough’**

Zari sat on the rooftop of the apartment block below her, the cup of what she can only assume is cheap beer she was handed sat by her feet as she breathed in the night air. She could hear the muffled sound of music from downstairs, the bass sending gentle shakes through the ground below her.  
As she closed her eyes and took a deep breath in, Zari was interrupted by the door to the roof swinging open, sending a blast of warm air and loud music across the rooftop. 

From the moment Charlie arrived at the party, she was looking for a way out- which was odd considering she was usually big on any excuse to drink excessively and yell her head off to good music; but for some reason, the second Charlie walked into the overridden apartment the feeling that she should be somewhere else washed over her. Despite this, she stayed, trying to put up with the warm beer and crappy house music as she mingled with the few people she knew.  
It only took a few drinks for Charlie to decide she’d had enough and she went for a walk, finding some stairs that lead up to a door. Assuming the stairs went up to the roof, Charlie wandered up them, desperate to get some fresh air, and swung the door open.  
The first thing she saw was a dark-haired girl sat just ahead of the door, the suddenness of the door opening visibly startling her.

‘Oh’ Charlie started, her British accent catching Zaris attention. ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were up here.’ Just as she turned around to walk back to the party, the girl shuffled across, making room.

‘You don't have to go back in there if you don’t want, I don't bite’ The girl joked as she turned to face Charlie, a small smile across her face. 

The girl was prettier than anyone Charlie had ever seen- the waves of her dark hair fell gently down her face and onto her back. She didn't seem to wear much makeup, other than some eyeshadow and a red lip, and she was wearing a white shirt tucked into some dark trousers with a black blazer style jacket thrown over the top. Over her shirt laid a gold chain necklace with some sort of red gem in the middle that glistened against the light of the night.

Charlie made her way over and sat herself down next to the girl, suddenly becoming overly conscious of how close she sat and what she looked like.

‘Thanks.’ 

‘Please, I couldn’t send you back in there, I wouldn’t even do that to my worst enemy.’

Charlie laughed to herself at the girl's comment before realising she hadn’t introduced herself.

‘I’m Charlie, by the way’ She said, holding out a hand and instantly regretting it. 

The brunette looked down at Charlie's hand with confusion on her face, but she shook it nevertheless 

‘Zari. Zari Tomaz’ 

‘So I take it you’re not enjoying the party?’ Charlie asked as she looked at Zari intently. She didn’t know what it was about her, but she was enthralling to Charlie.

‘I don’t know where on earth you got that idea, I’m clearly having the time of my life’ Zari responded sarcastically, the smile on her face widening as she looked up at Charlie. ‘I’m not even sure why I came if I’m being honest.’ 

‘Me neither, I don’t even know half of the people in there.’ Said Charlie, who’d now diverted her eye line to ahead of her, looking out at the vast evening sky. 

Zari briefly looked at Charlie, trying to not stare for too long in fear of coming across as a creep  
’Well, now you know me’ 

‘Yeah,’ Charlie smiled. ‘Now I know you.’ 

The two of them sat in silence for a while, the only noise being the faint sound of music from below, looking out into the city as it became darker, before Zari started up a conversation. They didn't talk about much, but the conversation flowed effortlessly from topic to topic, as if they had known each other for longer than the ten minutes they had spent on this roof together. Zari would find her eyes being drawn towards the girl next to her, how her body relaxed into the ground and how her face softened more and more with every moment she spent next to her. Charlie had something about her that was so _ interesting _ to Zari, something that drew her in closer to the girl and made her want to know everything about her and then more.

As Charlie sat next to Zari in silence, she tried her best to look at the night sky and the glowing buildings below them, but her eyes kept diverting to the girl next to her. She wished that she could spend the whole night up here, next to Zari, watching the stars reflect into her eyes as they talked and talked about anything and everything.  
In that moment, as Charlie gradually became lost in her thoughts, a bird flew in between the two of them, making Charlie jump and knock over the cup that was sat beside Zari, sending her drink all over her. 

‘Oh god, I’m so sorry.’ Charlie apologised to Zari, who was just sat there laughing. 

Charlie took her jacket off and tried to use it to clean up some of the mess, repeatedly apologising as she went.

‘I can go get you another one if you want’ 

‘Hey, hey’ Zari said reassuringly, still laughing slightly at the whole thing. She reached her arm out to Charlies, beckoning her to sit back down. 

‘It’s okay, my clothes can be washed.’ 

‘But, your drink, honestly I can go get another one it’s no big d-‘

Zari interrupted before Charlie could finish her mumbled ranting,

’Charlie. It’s fine. I don’t even drink anyway, someone just handed it to me as I came in.’ 

‘Oh. Oh okay.’ Charlie replied gently before sitting back down next to Zari ‘Probably for the best, whatever it is, it’s grim.’

‘Yeah, I don’t find that hard to believe.’

The two of them let out quiet laughs, as they continued looking out ahead of them, avoiding eye contact.

‘You should’ve seen your face just then.’ Zari teased, turning her face towards Charlies as her smile turned into a grin. 

‘Hey!’ Charlie remarked, playfully hitting Zari’s arm in response. ‘Leave it out.’

‘It’s fine, you’re still cute.’ Zari said with a smirk. The comment made Charlie seize up inside, all of the blood in her body rushed to her cheeks and she just hoped it was dark enough that Zari wouldn’t see how much she was blushing. 

Zari moved over ever so slightly, closing up the space between her and Charlie. She rested her shoulder against Charlies and dropped her head to the side so it was only just resting on Charlie's shoulder. She longed to lean in more, to close the space between them completely and to lie next to Charlie with her head on her chest until the sun came up, but fear came above her desires. 

‘Well, even if I am sat with warm frat party beer all over me on the rooftop of someone's shitty apartment, I’m glad I’m at least with you.’ 

‘Yeah, I must say, being up here is much better than being down there.’ 

‘God _ isn’t it _.’ Zari responded enthusiastically, 

‘Theres something about being this high up at this time of night, It's peaceful. And the city actually looks pretty beautiful for a change’

_’Not as beautiful as you _’ Charlie thought, instantly grossing herself out. Since when did she get her pick up lines from a 13 year old boy?

‘Yeah, and the companies not too bad either’

The two girls sat peacefully for the next few moments, Zari still resting gently against Charlie, her head raising ever so slightly with every breath Charlie took. The music from the party below had gradually died out, and it was now nothing but a distant hum.

‘Hey Zari?’ Charlie said quietly, trying not to disturb the quiet night around them.

‘Yeah.’ Zari replied softly.

‘Do you wanna hang out again sometime? I know it’s dumb because we just met like, not even an hour ago, but I think I really like you.’ 

‘You _ think ? _' Zari teased, shooting Charlie an offended look, making her laugh, as she tried to hide the smile that was creeping onto her face in response to Charlie's statement. 'Just kidding, I'd love to.’

‘Yeah?’ Charlie asked, almost in shock that someone like Zari would want to spend time with someone like her. 

‘Yes, dumbass.’ Zari laughed, nudging Charlie's side teasingly, making the other girl laugh alongside her.

When they both stopped laughing and they descended back into silence, Zari angled her head slightly so she could look up at Charlie. A small smile was still across the girls face and her eyes glistened in the light of the moon and stars above them. Zari watched as Charlie looked down at her, the smile on her face widening when their eyes met.  
Zari broke her body away from Charlies and sat up so she was now level with the girl next to her. Before Charlie could say anything, she reached her hand out and tucked the stray hair hanging in front of Charlie's face behind her ear. Her hand lingered by Charlie's face before she rested in on the back of her neck and used it to pull her in closer. Charlie's forehead was resting on Zaris with their eyes interlocked as one of Charlie's hands found its way to Zaris lower back. They stayed like that for a moment, feeling each others soft breathes in the small amount of space between them before Zari pulled Charlie in completely, bringing their lips together as the moon shined down on them, lighting up the rooftop. 

Zaris lips were soft on Charlies, and in that moment she thought that she’d like to spend her whole life kissing Zari Tomaz.


	2. HateThatILoveYou.mp3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where Zari and Charlie get sent off on a mission together during the romanticism movement despite the fact that they can't stand each other (or so they think).

** ‘And I hate how much I love you girl, I can't stand how much I need you, but I just can't let you go, and I hate that I love you so.’ **

‘Miss Tomaz, Miss Lance needs you on the bridge, she said it’s time for a family meeting- another anachronism’ Gideons voice called out into Zaris room as she was perched on the end of her bed, controller in one hand and a plate of food in the other. 

‘Really? Right now?’ Zari sighed

‘Yes, right now, Miss Tomaz.’ The AI replied.

Grabbing one final bite of her doughnut, Zari placed the things on her bed and stood back up.

‘This better be good.’ 

‘Chawton, England, 1813’ Sara began, addressing the whole team who had now gathered on the bridge of the waverider.

‘The beginning of the romanticism movement. Nice.’ Charlie piped up from her spot on one of the seats, getting a few confused looks from the rest of the legends. 

‘What? I like feminist literature.’ She mumbled in response before the team brushed it off and Sara carried on with the rundown. 

‘A creature has got its eye on Jane Austen, John thinks it’s an attachment spirit. Nothing major has happened so far, just some plot holes in history but if what John said is correct, that could change real quick. The goal is to get to it before it causes any major damage.’

‘What the hell is an attachment spirit?’ Zari asked.

‘An attachment spirit, love’ John started, his voice coming from behind Zari where he lingered in the corner, further away from the rest of the team. ‘Is a spirit who feeds off of peoples emotions. They like to attach themselves to people and whip up their emotions to feed off of them.’ 

‘So the romanticism movement was an ideal time for it, with all the emotions going about.’ Charlie added.

‘Exactly.’

‘The spirit seems to be after Jane, her romance writing must be good food, so we’ve gotta make sure we get to her before the spirit starts feeding off of her.’ 

‘What happens if it starts feeding off of her?’ Mona asked John with worry in her voice. 

‘Worst case scenario? She’ll die, pet.’ 

‘We’re not gonna let that happen though.’ Sara said, interrupting the conversation before it got even more depressing. ‘Ray, Mona, you’re with me. We’ll go looking for Jane, try to protect her from the spirit. Charlie, Zari, you’re together, try to draw out the spirit, distract it from latching onto Jane. And John will uh, John will just be being John, I guess.’

‘Yeah, no.’ 

‘That’s not happening.’ Zari and Charlie said, almost in perfect sync. 

‘Listen Lance, I don’t doubt your ability to lead a team, but me and Zari together? Not gonna work.’ Charlie said, now rising from her seat and propping her body against the back of it.

‘Yeah, we hate each other, it’ll only make it harder for us all.’ Zari added, hating the fact that she was having to agree with Charlie.

‘Exactly, you don’t like each other- all the more emotions for the spirit to be distracted by. You’re working together, I don’t care how much you hate me for it.’ Sara retorted, shutting both Charlie and Zari down. 

‘Lets get this over with.’ Charlie mumbled as she walked past Zari on her way off of the bridge. 

By the time the waverider had landed in 18th century England, the team had gotten themselves dressed into time appropriate clothing, and Zari was waiting for Charlie at the door out of the waverider.

‘Look, I don’t want to have to spend any more time with you than I have to,’ Charlie stated as she walked towards Zari. ‘So let's just get this sodding spirit and then we can get out of each others hair.’

‘Sounds like a solid plan to me. So where do you wanna start?’

‘This is dumb’ Zari said bluntly as she traipsed through the quiet town streets with Charlie. ‘I don’t see how just wandering around the main town is going to do anything.’ 

‘Well have you got any better ideas?’ Charlie asked, getting silence from Zari. ‘Yeah, didn’t think so.’

‘Besides, the main town is going to be the busiest part of this place, and the more people there are, the more emotions there will be to feed off of, and so it’s more likely the spirit will rock up there.’

‘Whatever.’ 

The rest of the walk was in silence, with both of them trying their best to ignore the other's existence entirely. 

When Charlie and Zari arrived in the town centre it was full of people mingling. Large groups of women sat together around rectangular picnic bench tables, gossiping over copies of Jane Austen's new book and shooting flirty looks across to the men and giggling to each other. The men stood around in large groups, watching the women from afar and talking amongst each other, no doubt about the women they were trying to woo. 

There was one man who caught Zaris attention more than the others, a man who was stood not too far from all the others, but enough for Zari to realise he’d distanced himself. He was dressed in the same clothes as the other men around him, but the way he held himself was different as if he wasn’t quite like the rest of them, as if he didn’t really fit in here.

‘Charlie.’ Zari said quietly to the girl next to her as she nodded in the man's direction, trying not to be too obvious about it. ‘Over there. Is that-’ 

‘The spirit? I think so, Decent spot, Tomaz.’ Charlie replied, following suit with keeping her voice down as not to draw too much attention to them. ‘So what’s the plan.’ 

‘Walk with me,’ Zari started, ‘And start acting like those women.’

‘Give off.’ Charlie muttered ‘You want me to act like an early 18th-century straight woman?’ 

‘That’s exactly what I want you to do, now come on.’ 

‘In a minute,’ Zari began as she took a seat with Charlie, pretending to giggle as she flashed flirting eyes at the spirit. ‘I’m going to go over to him and pretend I’m interested in him. Whilst I do that, sneak off around the corner and get ready to help me out. I’ll pursuade him to leave with me, lead him round to you, and we can get him to the waverider. Got it?’ 

‘Sure thing, boss’ Charlie responded, almost sarcatically, which Zari chose to ignore.

Zari gave Charlie an over dramatic smile as she stood up and began walking towards the man. She lowered her head as if to hide the fact that she was blushing and fiddled with her hair in an attempt to fit in with the other women around her. 

‘Excuse me sir, forgive me if I’m being too forward here, but you are just _ ravishing _. I was wondering if you would like to come home with me? Maybe we can get to know each other more over a cup of tea, perhaps?’ Zari asked as she approached the man, trying her best to mimic the accent of the English women around her. Charlie watched from afar, trying not to laugh at the scene as she took herself off, around from the centre of the town. 

‘Going home with a woman like you on my arm? That would be a pleasure.’ He replied, his English accent thick as he offered out his arm to Zari. ‘May I ask what your name is?’ 

‘Zari.’

‘Zari, what a delightful name.’

They began walking, Zaris arm now linked in his as she lead him off in Charlies direction. Once she had turned the corner into the empty area of the town, she looked around for Charlie, but much to her disappointment, all she saw was her figure as she wondered further away from Zari and the fugitive.

Her moment of distraction gave the man an opportunity, and he grabbed Zaris arm that was intertwined with his, and twisted her around so she was now pinned against his chest, his arm now being used to hold Zari in a headlock. Zaris face scrunched up in dissapointment, fustrated that Charlie ditched the plan, but even more fustrated that she ever believed she would help in the first place.

’I know you know what I am. You really thought you had a chance against me?’ The spirit laughed mockingly before being flung to the ground by Zari who had managed to weave her way out of his grip. Her foot pressed down on his chest, keeping him down on the floor. 

‘I mean-‘ Zari mumbled, unable to form a witty response. 

‘You’re so naive, girl. I feed off of emotions- if anything, you're making it easier for me to get away’ the spirit snarled from below Zaris foot.

Zari tried to brush off the remarks by rolling her eyes, but he persisted, trying to get under Zaris skin. 

‘Emotions make me strong, and you’ve got a _ lot _ of them. You _ and _ your little lady friend.’ 

‘I don't know what youre talking about.’

‘Perhaps not, but I think you do, deep down.’

Before Zari could get another word in, the man beneath her dissapeared seemingly into thin air, leaving Zari alone, and extremeley pissed.

‘Sara, I lost it. I think he’s heading your way.’ Zari said into her coms as she stormed away, towards Charlie.

‘Gee, Charlie, thanks for all your help out there. Glad to see you’re just as good at following instructions as you've always been.’ She shouted out as she caught up to the girl. 

‘Hey look, I was going to help- but I saw him and I knew he was onto us. Thought I’d save my energy.’ Charlie taunted in response, turning to face Zari.

‘God I _ knew _ I should’ve never agreed to work with you. You really don't care about anyone but yourself, do you?’ She spat, now infront of the girl.

‘Oh thats rich, coming from you’ Charlie hissed in response, anger boiling up in her chest.

_ ‘Excuse me?’ _

‘I see right through you, Zari. You and your saviour complex are no better than I am.’

‘Saviour complex? You’ve got to be kidding me.’ Zari remarked, closing the distance between her and Charlie as her anger built up ‘Its not my fault you’re an ass who doesn’t give two shits about the way your actions affect other people.’

‘At least I’m honest and don't prance around acting like some perfect little selfless hero.’ ‘You dont want to help people to help _ them _ zari, not really. You do it for _ you _, to make you feel better about _ yourself _.’ Charlie boasted, fuelling Zaris anger further. 

‘What is your problem with me Charlie? What have I ever done to make you hate me _so much _?’

Zaris comment left Charlie silent for a few moments, as if she'd thrown her off her game entirely.

‘I don't hate you.’ 

‘Really? Well it sure seems like you do.’

‘_I don't hate you, _ Zari.’ Charlie repeated, her tone more insistant this time.

‘You wanna know why’ve I’ve been such an asshole to you all this time Zari? You _ really _ wanna know?’ She continued, as she took a step back from Zari. ‘I’ve been a dick to you because _ I’m in love with you, _ okay? And I didn’t know how to deal with that. So I just thought I’d try hate you instead.’

‘You- you _ love _ me?’ Zari stuttered after standing in silence for a few moments, unsure of what to say.

‘Yes, you dumbass, I hate that I do but… I love you, I guess.’

‘Oh.’ Zari sighed.

Charlie took a couple more steps back, trying to distance herself from Zari as much as possible as she dropped her head down, shying away.

’Yeah.’

With that, Charlie turned around and began walking back to the waverider, leaving Zari alone and unsure what to do.


	3. FoolsGold.mp3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where Zari befriends Charlie after breaking up with Amaya, unaware of the fact that Charlie has been hopelessly in love with her for years.

**‘But I know in my heart, you’re not a constant star. And yes I let you use me from the day that we first met but I'm not done yet, falling for you.’**

It was a Wednesday evening when Charlie's sister Amaya broke up with Zari Tomaz- the girl that Charlie had loved since 8th grade.  
She was sprawled on the sofa of her families living room, a bag of crisps balancing on her thigh as she played on the ps4 in front of her when she started hearing the voices from upstairs getting louder. 

‘Amaya _ please _’

‘I’m sorry, Z. Just go’ 

Very soon after, she heard the sound of Zari crying as she walked down the stairs. She stopped as she reached the foot of the stairs, right by the open door leading into the living room. Charlie saw as she frantically tried to wipe away her tears, despite the fact that her blotchy face and puffy eyes would’ve given it away that she’d been crying. 

‘Oh, Charlie. Hey.’ She said softly through sniffles, giving Charlie a small smile as she looked up.

‘Hey.’ She replied, smiling back. 

‘Red Dead Two. Nice.’ Zari continued, looking at the game that Charlie had now paused.

‘Can I join?’

‘Oh-‘ Charlie started, flustered over the concept of Zari wanting to hang out with her. ‘I uhm-I don’t think now would be the best time, with, you know.’

‘Oh, yeah. Right.’ 

‘I can get something for you before you go though? A drink or some food maybe?’ Charlie suggested. 

‘I’m fine, thanks, Charlie. I better go.’ Zari responded, the remains of a smile quickly leaving her face.

‘Another time?’ She asked as she walked towards the front door, gesturing towards the game.

‘Yeah, sure Zari.’ 

Once Zari had left, Charlie couldn’t even carry on with the game. She picked up her crisps and walked into the kitchen to grab whatever she could from the cupboards- she had always been one for eating or drinking her feelings rather than dealing with them. Before, her feelings for Zari were always such an issue, considering she was her sisters girlfriend and all, but now that they’d broken up, it was even worse. Turning Zari away was something Charlie never thought she would do, but she couldn’t help like she would be betraying Amaya by loving Zari. 

Charlie dragged herself up the stairs, her arms now full of food she found in the kitchen, and she slumped herself onto her bed, not being able to bring herself to do much more.  
After a few moments of moping in silence, Charlie sat up and grabbed some headphones so she could at least mope with some music on. She started scrolling through her Spotify, choosing out her most angsty, depressing playlist to listen to as she fiddled with her pillows, making it comfier for her. Just before she locked her phone, an instagram notification flashed up at the top of her screen. Given the mood she was in, she went to get rid of it, having no energy to talk to anyone- until she saw the username at the start of the notification- it was Zari.  
Charlie opened up the message almost instantly.

_’hey charlie :) i don’t have your number so this’ll have to do, but i just wanted to say thanks for earlier, also im sorry you had to see me in that state- promise next time i wont be crying’ _

Charlie suddenly flung up so she was now sitting fully up.  
_ next time _  
Her thumbs lingered on the keyboard as her mind raced, unable to think of a response. 

_ ‘hey, z’ _ she started typing, before deleting it a second later. 

_ ‘don’t worry about it.’ _ she restarted, trying to sound as chill as possible. _ ‘hope you’re doing okay, im here for you if you ever need a chat.’ _

She pressed send before she could stop herself. 

When Charlie next looked up from her phone, hours had gone by. Her room was now dark, the house was silent and the clock read 1:05 am. For hours, she had been rotating between talking to Zari and scrolling through her instagram- which was already stripped of any signs of Amaya.  
Ther conversation was flowing more than Charlie could’ve ever imagined, the hours of constant messaging covered everything under the sun, from basic talks about school to deeper conversations about life and their feelings. They had so much in common that it made Charlie feel giddy. She wished that she felt more bad about this than she did, but the fact that Zari actually wanted to talk to _ her _ overpowered any feelings of guilt. After all, Amaya was the one that broke up with Zari out of the blue, so she was hardly in a position to get upset at Charlie for talking to her.  
Zari did mention the breakup, very briefly. She talked about how sudden it was, how she didn’t see it coming from a mile away, that she's convinced she did something wrong. Charlie reassured her that she could never do anything wrong, that whatever happened must have been on Amaya. After that, they didn’t bring it up again. 

The next time Charlie spoke to Zari was the next morning, when she woke up in the same position she had been in all night with her phone laying on her bed not to far from her face. There was a message from the night before that she had missed, a goodnight text.

_’i feel like my eyes are gonna give up on me if I stay up any later, so goodnight, charlie <3’ _

Charlies heart somersaulted at the sight of the message and she held her phone close to her chest as the smile across her face widened before she wrote out a response. 

_’i was clearly the same, i fell asleep before i could even see this. hope you’re not too tired :)’ ___ Charlie said, getting a response from Zari almost instantly. 

_'nothing a bit of iced coffee wont fix. do you wanna hang out at school later?' _

‘Charlie, get out of bed. You’re going to make us both late.’ Charlie heard Amaya shout, bursting her Zari filled bubble.

_'yeah, id like that.' _ She replied before dragging herself out of bed and into the shower.

_ _

_ _For the next few weeks, much to Charlie's delight- things with Zari only went up. The constant messaging continued, and Zari joined Charlie during every break at school. She even came over a few times to play video games. This was all much to Amaya's dislike, and every night Charlie would hear a rant about how she's being selfish and how Zari is just using her to get over their breakup. Charlie, of course, brushed this off. What she had with Zari was real- just because it wasn’t a romance like she had always wished doesn’t mean it wasn’t _real_. Zari didn’t have romantic feelings for her and that was okay- Charlie was happy to have her in her life in any form. _ _

_ _‘Charlie!’ Zari called out excitedly as she walked over towards her during the start of their Friday lunch break. ‘Wanna come to a party with me?’ _ _

_ _‘A party?’ Charlie responded._ _

_ _‘Yeah! It’s at some popular kids house, it was planned ages ago and well, I uh was going to go with Amaya but obviously that's not happening. And besides, you’re my new favourite person so it would be an obvious choice.’_ _

_ _That short sentence repeated itself in Charlies head.  
_’my new favourite person.’__ _

_ _‘Say you’ll come, please Charlie!’ Zari pleaded._ _

_ _‘Yeah, of course. When is it?’ Charlie answered, realising she’d been quiet for too long. _ _

_ _It turns out that Zari was awful at remembering to ask people things in advance because the party was tomorrow- leaving Charlie with minimal time to prepare for the fact that she’d be going to a party with Zari Tomaz. _ _

_ _‘You can come to mine at 6, we’ll get ready to eat and my mum can cook us something before we go.’ Zari finished after the rest of their conversation, beaming at Charlie before going on with the rest of their day._ _

_ _

_ _The rest of the day went quickly, Charlie only had two more lessons after lunch and then she was home, messaging Zari from the comfort of her room until she fell asleep yet again. Before Charlie knew it, it was Saturday evening at 5:59 pm and she was stood waiting outside of Zaris front door. She knocked on the door twice, the third knock being interrupted by Zari excitedly opening the door._ _

_ _‘Charlie!!!’ She squealed, ‘Come in, come in, come in!’_ _

_ _Zaris good mood was infectious, and all of Charlie's nerves about the night disappeared, being replaced by a smile as Zari pulled her in by the arm, quickly leading her past her family and up to her room. Zaris room was massive, with a queen-sized bed being the focal point of the space. It was covered in blankets and cushions, and fairy lights were wrapped around the headboard. Odd sketchbooks were scattered across her floor and desk and the walls were lined with drawings and polaroids. Charlie could tell where Zari had taken down photos of her and Amaya and filled the gaps with odd photos and paintings she could find in attempts to throw out the years of memories they had together. _ _

_ _‘You like it?’ Zari asked, noticing Charlie looking at the wall._ _

_ _‘Yeah, I like your whole room. It’s cute.’ _ _

_ _Zari beamed in response before reaching for something off of her side. _ _

_ _‘Lets take one.’ She suggested, now holding up a polaroid camera. _ _

_ _Zari sat herself down next to Charlie, who had now positioned herself cross-legged on the floor. Zari snuggled up towards Charlie, their faces almost touching, as she ginned at the camera she was aiming towards her. Charlie looked towards Zari, too distracted by the utter beauty of the girl next to her to pose for the photo. When it came out, Zari held it gently between her thumb and forefinger, admiring it with a smile before placing it up on the wall- in a gap between photos she must’ve had nothing to fill with. Charlies heart dropped when she came back to reality. As happy as she was to be here with Zari, for them to have the relationship they had, moments like this made her feel like she was just a way for Zari to heal from her relationship with Amaya. She quickly pushed down the thought, and diverted her attention back to Zari, not wanting to admit to herself that maybe what Amaya told her had been right. _ _

_ _

Zari watched as Charlie got ready, sat in front of her mirror as she did her hair, braiding one side of her hair and letting the rest of it sit in its natural curls, falling slightly in front of her face. She would catch Charlies reflection as she did her own hair and makeup, she’d see the moments of concentration where Charlie scrunched her nose up, the moments where her curls would fall down perfectly, the moments where Charlie would look at herself and the corners of her mouth would curve up in an attempt to smile before she stopped herself. When she looked at her, she felt different to how she felt what she looked at Amaya. When she looked at Amaya, she would feel as if her heart was being filled with all the love in the world, as if it was about to burst; but when she looked at Charlie she felt as if she had all of the love the world had to offer running through her whole body, coursing through her veins, looking for somewhere else to go, because her body wasn’t large enough for the way Charlie made her feel.

_ _

_ _The party started at 8 pm, but the two of them didn’t get there until almost 9 pm, by the time they had finished getting ready and eaten, Zaris mum insisted that she got some photos before they left. _ _

_ _‘God, I’m so sorry about that, my mum is obsessed with getting photos whenever I’ve properly gotten ready for something.’ Zari said as she and Charlie got out of the car that was parked across the street from the party._ _

_ _‘I don’t mind.’ Charlie began, reassuringly. ‘I mean, I can hardly blame her. You do scrub up well.’ _ _

_ _Zari smirked at Charlie, her eyes brushing down her body as she properly looked at her for the first time since she’d finished getting ready._ _

_ _‘God I do, don’t I. Although I think you could give me a run for my money.’ _ _

_ _When they reached the front door, Zari pushed it open and used her other arm to pull Charlie closer, wrapping it around her lower waist. It took less than a minute of being inside the house for people to bombard them, pushing drinks into their hands; Zari tried to hand hers back but the people, who were already drunk, refused to take it back before leaving to mingle with more people._ _

_ _‘Here, I’ll take it.’ Charlie said, holding out her other hand. ‘I’ll need another one eventually.’ _ _

_ _‘Thanks.’ Zari smiled._ _

_ _‘Wanna go meet some of my friends?’ _ _

_ _

_ _The next hour or so consisted of Charlie meeting Zaris friends and getting five drinks deep in whatever it was that people were handing her. When she was around Zari on their own, she was perfectly fine, she felt as if she was at home, but when she was with Zari around other people, her nerves overtook her. Thankfully, they never spent too much time with Zaris friends, just introductions and small talk, and she spent most of her night sat on an armchair with Zari, knocking drinks back as quickly as she could. When she’d finished what she thinks was her eighth drink, she turned to Zari and said something so bold for Charlie that she didn’t know if it was her best or worst decision. _ _

_ _‘Zari. Come dance with me.’ She said, looking upwards towards the girl who was sat on her lap as she reached her hand out to interlock with Zaris. _ _

_ _‘I thought you’d never ask.’ Zari responded, helping Charlie up off of the seat before walking along with her to the dance floor. Charlie wasn’t entirely sure what was playing, or what she was doing, but she was now dancing with Zari, whose hands had gotten comfortable on Charlie's hips as she swayed her body and slowly pulled her in closer so that their bodies were almost touching.  
Time felt as if it had slowed down at that moment. The room around them was still and quiet, and all that Charlie could see, all that she could hear and feel was Zari, her warm hands now on the bare skin that had become exposed underneath Charlie’s shirt; her laugh as they danced together, their bodies in perfect sync; her eyes, sparkling in the reflection of the beaming fluorescent lights around them. Zaris eyes, that were locked on Charlie’s, almost in awe, dropped to her mouth, which had been stuck in a beaming smile since Zari pulled her up here. Zari removed one of her hands from Charlie’s waist and placed it on the back of her neck, stroking her cheek on the way there. _ _

_ _‘Charlie.’ She said quietly, so just she could hear. Charlie looked back at Zari in response, her beaming grin turning into more of a softer smile as she looked at the girl. _ _

_ _Before Charlie had the chance to respond, Zari pulled her in close and kissed her. Charlie lifted her hands up to Zari, cupping her face as she melted into the kiss. The world around them stopped as Charlie felt Zaris lips, soft on hers, and the warmth of her hand on the back of her neck. It was all perfect, and it was all Charlie had ever wanted, so she couldn’t comprehend why she stopped abruptly and pulled away from Zari._ _

_ _‘I need to go.’ She stated bluntly, before racing out of the room, towards the front door and out of the house entirely. _ _

_ _Zari had followed her out, chasing her down the street that was now completely dark other than the odd pool of orange light coming from the streetlamps._ _

_ _‘Charlie, wait!’ She shouted out towards the girl whos pace had now lowered to a walk._ _

_ _‘Just stop, Zari. You don’t get to do this.’ Zari called back, continuing to walk away from Zari._ _

_ _‘Do _what_’ _ _

_ _‘You don’t get to use me to get over Amaya.’ Charlie replied, now stopping and turning to face the girl who had managed to catch up. They stood under the light of a street lamp, the distance between them significantly larger than it was a few moments ago. Zaris face was washed with pain as she looked across to the girl who seemed to switch from loving her to hating her in a matter of moments._ _

_ _‘_Use you?_ Charlie, I haven’t been-’_ _

_ _‘Yes, you have Zari.’ Charlie interrupted. ‘Taking me in the _ second _ Amaya breaks up with you? Inviting me to do all of the things you used to do together? Replacing every memory of Amaya in your room with one of me instead? You’ve been using me and- and I’ve been dumb enough to just _let you_ all because…’_ _

_ _‘All because what?’ Zari asked, her voice softening._ _

_ _‘Don’t act like you don’t know.’_ _

_ _‘All because _ I love you,_ Zari. I have since eight fucking grade, but you couldn’t give a shit- you’ve never given a shit about me. It’s always been about Amaya, _ always_’ Charlie took a breath as she tried to push down the tears she could feel rising. ‘And now you’re trying to use me as a way to get rid of all that shit just because I look like her and have been hopelessly in love with you for years, and hey! That’s an easy rebound isn’t it!’_ _

_ _‘Charlie-‘_ _

_ _‘No, Zari. Stop.’_ _

_ _‘Charlie, what if it _ hasn’t _ always been Amaya. What if it’s always been you, and I just was too blind to realise.’ Zari said._ _

_ _‘Don’t give me that.’ Charlie scoffed._ _

_ _‘Charlie I’m being serious.’ _ _

_ _Zari slowly walked closer towards Charlie, stopping as she became close enough to touch._ _

_ _‘What if it was always _ you _.’ _ _

_ _And for the second time that night, Zari pulled Charlie in, kissing her, almost in a desperate attempt to win Charlie over, to convince her not to leave. Charlie wanted so bad to hate it, she wanted so badly for this to be easy, for her to be able to just throw Zari out of her life with the same ease as Amaya, but she didn't. She wanted Zari _so badly_, but she couldn't have her- not like this; so for the second time that night, she pulled away from the kiss- pulled away from Zari. _ _

_ _‘I can’t do this.’_ _

_ _As she pulled away, Zari reached her hand out to Charlie, who held it for a brief moment, before letting go and turning around, finally letting her tears fall now that Zari couldn’t see. Before the conversation could go any further and Charlies heart could break any more, she began walking away- leaving Zari alone and heartbroken in the street._ _


	4. IWannaBeYourGirlfriend.mp3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where Charlie, who so happens to be Zaris worst enemy, gets paired with her for an English project.

**'I don't wanna be your friend, I wanna kiss your lips'**

It was only the first day of senior year, Zaris last year at the shithole she called high school, and she had already been forced into a group project with her least favourite person- Charlie.  
When she woke up this morning, dragging herself out of bed at the ungodly time of 6:30 am, she thought the first day back would be a breeze- you know, settling back in after the holidays, being introduced to to new topics and new teachers, not _group projects_, not already. To make matters worse, she had been paired with someone who managed to get on every last one of her nerves. Honestly, Zari felt like it was intentional, her English lit teacher did _not_ like Zari, and she also knew that Zari did _not_ like Charlie, so it all seemed a bit too suspicious.

‘Someones in a good mood.’ Sara taunted as Zari sat herself down at the picnic bench where Sara, Nora, Ray and Wally were all sat, throwing her bag down to the floor carelessly and slamming her food tray on the table. 

‘Z, it’s literally lunchtime, how are you already pissed off?’ Wally questioned, trying not to laugh at Zari, who was now sat sulking. 

‘Wouldn’t you like to know.’ Zari muttered in response.

‘Yeah, we would, babe. That's why we asked.’ Nora joked, initially getting nothing but an eye roll in response. 

‘We’ve been assigned a group project _already_, and I’ve been paired with _Charlie_.’ 

The whole group tried to muffle their laughter at the situation to avoid worsening Zaris mood, but they couldn’t help but see the humorous side to it. 

‘Hey!’ Zari exclaimed, hitting Sara on the shoulder as her attempts failed and she burst out in laughter.  
‘Look, Z I’m sorry’ Sara started through muffled laughter. ‘I really am, like I know how much you hate her, but you’ve gotta admit… it’s kinda funny.’ 

‘Hey, who knows, this could provide the perfect opportunity for some amazing hate sex.’ Nora chimed in. 

‘I hate you all. Especially you, Darhk.’ 

‘On a more important note-‘ Sara started, once again. ‘Have y’all seen that hot new teacher?’ 

‘Oh my god yes.’ Nora, Wally and Ray chorused.

The five of them spent the rest of their lunch break going back and forth between gossip, getting into a whole load of things; from Saras blatantly obvious crush on Nyssa, to the year ahead of them and the amount of work they had to do, and back to Saras crush on the older brunette. 

‘I do not like Nyssa!’ Sara insisted.

‘Sounds fake, but okay.’ Nora responded.

‘Look, just cause she's tall and hot, and seems like shes _great_ in bed doesn’t mean I like her? I mean, my constant thoughts about kissing her, holding her hand, letting her slam me against a wall, cuddling her, they don’t mean I _like_ her.’

‘That is literally exactly what you think about when you fancy someone.’ Zari retorted, laughing at how in denial the blonde was. 

‘Suddenly I’m Jared, 19.’ 

The bell signifying the end of lunch break rang as the group laughed at Sara, saving her from any further torment today. 

‘Hey Z, you got a free?’ Nora asked as they all stood up and began gathering their things.

‘Yeah, you?’ 

Nora nodded before giving a proper response as they walked.

‘Wanna sit in the library together and try to get some work done?’ She asked, both of them knowing full well that “try to get some work done” was just code for sitting with their work in front of them as they talked the whole time. 

‘I’d love to, however, Charlie has insisted on getting a head start on our project and using all of our frees that line up to get it done.’ 

‘God, what a nerd.’ Nora said with a laugh, slowly walking away from Zari as she went in a different direction towards the library. 

‘Well, have fun, Tomaz, get some.’ 

‘I’m gonna kill you, Darhk.’ Zari called out, the distance between them becoming wider.

‘I’d love to see you try, babe.’

Zari walked into her deadly quiet English lit classroom to see Charlie already there, sat pretentiously with her legs up on the desk and her earphones blaring loud, angry music.

‘Tomaz.’ She said, taking her earphones out and repositioning herself on her chair so her legs were now off the table.

‘Don’t call me that.’ Zari replied bluntly, already annoyed with the girl.

‘Jesus christ, what's up with you.’

‘Nothings up with me- Tomaz is what my friends call me, and we are far from friends, so don’t call me that.’

‘Alright, jeez.’

‘Lets just get this shit done, got any ideas?’

‘Well, I was thinking since it has to be a modern rewrite of a classic, first, we could brainstorm some of our favourite classics and see if there's any similarities? Then we can just go from there.’ 

Zari agreed begrudgingly and started listing off some of her favourite classic pieces- most of them being feminist literature. 

‘Hey, here’s one we both have- wuthering heights, Emily Brontë. Wanna roll with that one?’ Charlie said after they both sat rattling off different pieces of literature for just over five minutes.

‘Sure.’ Zari said, refusing to open herself up to positive conversation with Charlie, something that the other girl clearly caught onto. Charlie decided that she would follow suit in Zaris bluntness; neither of them wanted to be there, and neither of them liked each other, but Charlie had been trying to be the bigger person here, but if Zari wasn’t going to at least _try_ to be nice, neither would she.  
This decision caused nothing but rows between them, and it didn’t even take ten minutes for them to have their first dispute, and then only another fifteen minutes for their second, and then their third, and then their fourth. 

‘I’ve had enough. I’m leaving. This has gone awfully and its almost the end of my free so, bye.’ Zari blurted out, as the fourth argument was underway. ‘I’ll see you in our next free, get a grip before then please.’

‘Oh that's rich, maybe make sure you stop being a dickhead before the next free yeah? Maybe that way our work won't go tits up.’ Charlie argues.

Zari went to fight back but decided she couldn’t be bothered for another argument with Charlie, not today, so she just walked out, slamming the door behind her.

Zari stormed her way through the hallway, not sure where she was going but trying to distance herself from Charlie as much as possible. She pulled her phone out of her back pocket and opened up her group chat with Nora, Wally, Ray and Sara.

**zari**  
_ “Icannotstandthatputa.JPEG.”_

_ ** _nora_ **  
_”that bad huh?”_ _

__ ** _zari_ **  
_”yes, that bad.”_  
_”might fake my own death. thoughts?”_

_ ** _sara_ **  
_“honestly a valid plan, I might know a guy that can help you out.”___ _

_ _ _ ** _wally_ **  
_”wedonthavetimetounpackallofthat.JPEG”_ _ _ _

_ _ _ ** _nora_ **  
_”speak for yourself wally, I have time”_ _ _ _

_ _ _ ** _ray_ **  
_”how about we save the fake deaths for another day?” _ _ _ _

_ _ _ ** _zari_ **  
_”thats boring”_ _ _ _

_ _ _ ** _ray_ **  
_”zari,,, why dont you just,,, perhaps,,, try not to fight her next time? and just get your work done so you dont have to see her again?”_ _ _ _

_ _ _ ** _nora_ **  
_”awful plan, 10/10 do not recommend. how about you just get all of the anger out by shagging her and then see how things are after that.”_ _ _ _

_ _ _ ** _zari_ **  
_”or consider, I fake my own death and never show my face here again”_ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ ** _sara_ **  
_”coward”_ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _‘Miss Tomaz.’ A teacher called, bringing Zari back to her surroundings. ‘Off your phone, please.’_ _ _ _

_ _ _ _‘Yeah, sorry.’ Zari mumbled, putting her phone back into her pocket as she continued walking through the halls, this time to go find Nora._ _ _ _

_ _ _ _Zari spent the rest of the school day trying to get her mind off of what had happened earlier that day. She spent the last ten minutes of her free period with Nora in the library, talking about her ever-growing crush on Ray and the hot new teacher Sara had mentioned earlier, before walking with her to their maths lesson, the last one of the day, where they also met Wally. Zari had always hated maths, but after the day she had, she was weirdly happy to be in the lesson._ _ _ _

_ _ _ _By the time she had gotten home, the fiery anger inside her had burned out, and she was left feeling nothing but tired- anger always did that to Zari, it exhausted her, which was rather annoying considering how often she got angry. Despite how tired she felt, and how much she just wanted to get in bed and binge tv whilst stuffing her face, she pulled out her English lit folder and gathered the notes her and Charlie had managed to get in their free period together. There wasn’t much, but it was enough for Zari to work with, and so she made a start with their project, mapping out a plan and any ideas she had. _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _* * *_ _ _ _

_ _ _ _The next day, Zari woke up surrounded by the work from the night before that she couldn’t be bothered to put away before falling asleep. She groaned at the mess in her room and the time on the clock and rolled over to one side, grabbing her phone off of its charger to see messages from her friends who, for some reason, like to get up earlier than Zari._ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ ** _sara_ **  
_”what are the pros and cons of skipping today and staying in bed until tomorrow.”_ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ ** _ray_ **  
_”pros: you’ll be in bed, you wont be in sch**l, cons: absolutely none”_ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ ** _nora_ **  
_”false, there is one con, you wont see me.”_ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ ** _wally_ **  
_”or me”_ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ ** _sara_ **  
_”god you really overestimate how much I like you guys”_ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ ** _zari_ **  
_”you wont see nyssa”_ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ ** _sara_ **  
_”that would only be valid if I liked her, which I dont”_ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ ** _wally_ **  
_”you do though”___ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ ** _nora_ **  
_”yes you do”_ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ ** _sara_ **  
_”perhaps you are right,,,, guess I’ll see you at school then”_ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _Zari didn’t have to see Charlie again until the end of the day when they had another English lit lesson, which meant her day went much better than yesterday. When she walked into the class, she was in a much more positive mood, and was even considering going easy on Charlie, even though that would be exactly what the other girl wanted; this, however, changed very quickly when she saw Charlie sat in the seat next to hers- the exact one that she had made efforts to keep empty all through high school so she wouldn’t have to deal with anyone. _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _‘What are you doing’ she asked bluntly as she approached her desk, getting a confused look from Charlie in response._ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _‘You’re sat in the seat next to mine. Why.’ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _‘I don’t know if you’ve wrapped your little brain around this yet, but if we’re doing a project together then we’re going to have to sit with each other when we do work.’ Charlie responded, her tone loaded with sarcasm._ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _‘Whatever.’_ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _‘Anyway, we’re being sent off soon so we have our own room to work in, miss is trying to stop everyone getting distracted by each other.’_ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _‘Great.’ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _‘So,’ Zari started, talking to Charlie for the first time since their initial conversation at the start of class as they got settled into the empty room their teacher had shown them to. ‘Last night I went over some of the notes we wrote down and I started some bits off, you know like plans and some initial ideas of what we can change in our piece.’_ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _‘Of course you did.’ Charlie jeered._ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _‘What is that supposed to mean?’ Zari asked with a snappish tone._ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _‘Oh nothing, just that I knew you would hate working with me so much that you would get controlling and do everything yourself.’_ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _‘Is that so bad? I thought I was helping us out?’ Zari started, anger boiling up in her chest. ’And besides, I don't know why you’re complaining about me getting it done, we both know you don’t put any effort into anything other than being a brat.’_ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _‘Cute, the brat is calling me a brat.’ Charlie muttered with a smirk and an eye roll._ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _‘Excuse me?’_ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _‘Look, Zari, for starters, this is a group project, meaning we work together.’ Charlie argued ‘And secondly, you don’t get to get arsey about me when everyone knows you’re even worse. You can’t stand the thought of being mature enough to work with someone you don’t like for a few weeks and would rather ruin the work by being a pretentious bitch.’ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _‘What did you just call me?’_ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _‘Oh, you know full well what I just called you.’_ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _Zari was now getting excruciatingly angry with the girl that was sat besides her._ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _’Well, seeing as we’re going over each others clearly awful personalities, how about you step down from your high horse and realise you’re lazy and rude and quite frankly, the biggest twat I’ve ever met. Pull your head out of your own ass before you come for me, Charlie.’_ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _‘Whatever.’ Charlie sighed, not in defeat, but in a way that said she had said all she had to say, and she couldn’t be bothered to continue the fight. ‘If you’re done, I’d like to actually get on with the project now.’_ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _The rest of the time went as expected when you and your group project partner have a massive falling out whenever you try get anything done- painfully slow; the more Zari thought about wanting to go home, the slower it felt the time was going. On a more positive note, she and Charlie managed to work through the grudges they were very clearly holding to get their project off to a proper start._ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _* * *_ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _It was a pleasant Friday morning at 6:30 am when Zari woke up in the best mood she had been in in weeks. The sun was shining through her curtains, she could hear the birds chirping outside and the smell of her mother cooking breakfast downstairs had filled her room. She pulled herself up and sat upright in bed, leaning against the headboard, and reached for her phone._ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ ** _zari_ **  
_”good morning my favourite people how are we all.” _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ ** _sara_ **  
_”holy fuck is zari being nice to us?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ ** _wally_ **  
_”what goes on”_ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ ** _ray_ **  
_”honestly tomaz, I cant say Im not flattered by the rare showing of affection but… what.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ ** _zari_ **  
_”today is the greatest day of my life, I guess being nice to my friends is a side affect x”_ _ _ _ _ _ _

__ __ __ _ _ _ ** _sara_ **  
_”why,,,, why is today the greatest day of your life” _  
_”am I like… a really awful friend who has forgotten a significant day in my friends life or…” _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ ** _nora_ **  
_”yeah, whats so special about today may I ask”_ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ ** _zari_ **  
_”so glad you asked, today is the last day I have to spend my free period with ch*rlie before we hand in our project” _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ ** _wally_ **  
_”oh worm” _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ ** _nora_ **  
_”thats hot”_ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ ** _zari_ **  
_”youre right nora, it is hot, and to celebrate im getting us all iced coffee before school today so get your asses up and meet me at the coffee shop by school at 8”_ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ ** _sara_ **  
_”zari have i ever mentioned that youre like,, my favourite person.”___ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ** _zari_ **  
_”honestly?no, but you dont have to because I already know”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _The last couple of weeks had been Zaris personal idea of hell- constantly being shut off in a room with no one but Charlie for an hour and a half. If she was being entirely honest, she didn’t have a clue how they got their project done on time, and _well_, considering that they’d have at least two arguments every session. Zari didn’t even know how they kept coming up with things to argue about, but they did; whether it was about an idea for the work, the way the other person had done their part of the work, or just their general dislike for each other, the two of them would always find time for a row. All of this drama, however annoying it was for Zari, was peak entertainment for her friends, who looked forward to Zaris daily bitchy rambling sessions about Charlie and how much she hated her- Nora had even started bets on how long it would take for them to have hate sex, much to Zaris annoyance. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _‘To my last free period study session with satan incarnate!’ Zari said, holding her iced coffee cup to the others as they sat around a booth in their go to coffee place._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _‘To Zaris last free period study session with satan incarnate!’ The rest of the group chorused in response, holding their drinks up to Zaris. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Zaris last study session with Charlie was this afternoon, the first lesson after lunch, and the second to last lesson of the day, leaving her with the whole day to bask in the joy of this hell sent project ending before her mood inevitably gets ruined by Charlie. She was hoping that seeing as they were pretty much finished, wrapping up the project wouldn’t take the whole hour and a half, and she could leave early and enjoy a free period in peace for the first time in weeks.  
When lunch break came to an end and Zari made her way to the same room her and Charlie had been using these last couple weeks, she tried her best to go into it with a positive mood. It was a far stretch, but she didn’t want an argument today, or at least a massive one, which was a much more realistic expectation to set. This, however, didn’t last long. Charlie was sat in her usual spot, in the usual way; legs up on the table, earphones blaring music, and for some reason, this irked Zari in a way she couldn’t even understand. There was just something about Charlie that was just so careless, so selfish, and seeing her for the first time in a couple of days just reminded her of how _awful_ she was._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _‘Whats up with you? You’ve got a face like a smacked arse.’ Charlie piped up, removing her earphones and pausing her music._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _‘Shut up.’_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Charlie laughed at how easy it was to wind the other girl up, two words and it would be like she’s already ready for a fight. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _‘Look,’ Zari started. ‘We only have a couple things to do, lets just go over the project and wrap this up, then we never have to do this again, okay.’ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _‘Yeah, fine. Whatever.’ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _They sat in silence for the next twenty or so minutes, the air between them tense as they both tried to ignore each other as much as possible. After being sat in silence for a while, Charlie put her pen down and interrupted the silence._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _‘What’s your problem?’_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _‘What?’ Zari asked, also putting her pen down and angling her body to face Charlie._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _‘What’s your problem?’ Charlie repeated ‘I get we’ve never liked each other, and this was the worst pairing we could’ve got for the project, but I’ve been _trying_ to cool things off between us-I’ve been trying to be nice to you.’_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _‘Really? You haven’t been doing a very good job.’ Zari muttered, raising her eyebrows and avoiding eye contact with the girl in-front of her._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _‘Look, Charlie, why do you even care, anyway. We’re not friends, we’re never going to be friends. We’re just doing this to get a good mark.’_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _‘Why is the possibility of us being friends, hell even just not hating each other, the end of the world to you?’ Charlie snapped._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _‘It’s not, I just don't like you enough to want to be friends with you- but if you want to be friends Charlie then fine, we can be friends.’_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _‘I don't want to be your bloody friend, Zari.’_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _‘Oh. Okay.’ Zari said, almost disappointedly. ‘Then why the fuck are you making such a big deal out of this then?’_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _‘Oh for fucks sake.’ Charlie said under her breath, before looking Zari in the eye, putting her hands either side of Zaris head, taking her aback, pulling her in- and kissing her. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _At first Zari pulled back, shocked at what the hell was going on, but as her eyes lingered on Charlie and her lips, she whispered under her breath before pulling Charlie back in, her arms draped over her shoulders. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _‘Fuck it.’_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Their lips moved together in perfect harmony as they teased each other with their tongues. Charlie's hands, which had now moved to Zaris waist, were pulling the other girl in closer, so they were almost touching. Zari suddenly applauded herself for the skirt she chose to put on today, which was slowly riding up her legs to reveal more and more of her thighs. She was practically straddling Charlie now, with the chair she had sat on before now pushed to the side. Charlie's hands moved further and further down Zaris body, so they were now on the underside of her thighs, brushing the newly revealed skin of Zaris thighs as she moved. Charlie stood up, picking up Zari with her as her hands found their way under Zaris skirt, and Zari legs wrapped around Charlie’s waist. Zaris mouth moved to neck of the girl who's body she was wrapped up in, getting delicate moans in response. Charlie desperately pushed their things off of the table in front of them and laid Zari down on it. She leaned over the girl, her body in between her legs, which were still wrapped around Charlie's waist, and returned her lips to Zaris, playfully biting them as she pulled away to plant kisses further down Zaris body. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _‘Take off your shirt.’ Zari whispered into Charlies ear as the girl kissed down her neck._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _‘Yes ma’am.’ Charlie replied with a smirk before lifting the top she was wearing over her head, throwing it across the classroom to reveal the black bra underneath. Zari unbuttoned her own shirt as Charlies kisses traveled down her torso, soon reaching the waistband of her skirt. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _‘Take it off.’ Zari demanded, signalling towards the skirt with her head._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _‘Are you sure?’ Charlie asked softly, looking up at Zari._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _‘Definitely.’ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Charlies hands made their way to the zip on the girls skirt, pulling it down as she placed delicate kisses along the waistline of Zaris underwear, and further down, down the inside of her thighs. She started reaching for the girls underwear, but was interrupted by the sudden ringing of the bell._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _‘Shit.’ They said in unison, rushing up and reaching for their clothes before someone walked in. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Zari quickly pulled her skirt back up and buttoned up her shirt, checking her hair in the reflection of a computer before grabbing their work and her bag and rushing out of the classroom._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _‘Hey Tomaz,’ Charlie called out to the girl before she had left the class as she pulled her shirt back over her head. ‘We are _definitely_ picking that up soon.’_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _‘Whatever.’ Zari said playfully with a smirk before leaving, shutting the door on her. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _‘Hey, hot stuff.’ Nora, who had been waiting for the girl in the hallway said, startling Zari. ’Oh my god’ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _‘What?’ Zari asked, brushing her clothes down nervously._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ __’You shagged Charlie’_ She teased, lowering her voice so the whole hallway didn’t hear._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _‘What?! No I didn’t’ Zari replied defensively, her nervous laugh coming out. In that exact moment, Charlie decided to come out of the room, her timing impeccable as always. She looked at the two girls and winked and Zari before walking off down the hallway._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _‘Okay so maybe something happened, but I did _not_ shag her.’ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _‘Nice one, Tomaz!’ Nora said, playfully punching her on the arm, before Zari dragged her along the hallway so they weren’t late to their next class._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _‘Do not tell _anyone_, Darhk, or I swear to god, I’ll kill you.’_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _‘Cross my heart and hope to die, babe’_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _


	5. SweaterWeather.mp3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where Zari is having some emotional issues after Sanjay's effects on the legends and Charlie is there to give her just the kind of help she needs.

** ‘Touch my neck and I'll touch yours You in those little high waisted shorts, oh She knows what I think about And what I think about One love, two mouths One love, one house No shirt, no blouse’ **

Zari Tomaz sat in the silent kitchen of the waverider, a slice of First Lady Johnsons pecan pie that she had got Gideon to whip up sat in front of her, untouched. The rest of the legends and Nora, who Ray was doing a bad job of hiding in his room, had all gone back to sleep after their midnight meetup to discuss the dreams that Sanjay had planted in their minds with Kamadevas ashes; Zari, however, hadn’t managed to fall back asleep. She had tried, but every time her head hit the pillow she would end up tossing and turning for hours, her thoughts keeping her awake; so she soon gave up even trying to get some rest, and instead found herself picking at the best pecan pie she had ever tasted at the ungodly time of 4 am. It was unlike Zari to not be devouring the food in front of her, but today's mission had left her feeling unlike herself, so instead, she moved it around the plate with her fork, wondering where her appetite had gone. Sanjay's presence had brought up some things that Zari didn’t want to be brought up, and helped her realise things she didn’t want to realise, but now that she had, it was stopping her from thinking of anything else. The girls had playfully teased her about her dream of Sanjay and Nate (of all people) when they had gathered in the kitchen earlier that night, and although the jokes were harmless and she easily went along with them, all she could think of was the deeper feelings that Sanjay's effect had drawn out.

Zari was so in her own thoughts about everything that had happened that day as she fiddled with the fork in her hand that she didn’t even notice Charlie walk in. The slightly taller girl lingered in the doorway at the sight of Zari, who looked like she was in a trance, waiting to see if she’d react to her presence. After a few minutes without a reaction, Charlie walked further into the kitchen and took a seat opposite Zari, grabbing a glass of water on her way.

‘Can’t sleep either?’ She asked quietly, making sure not to wake the whole ship up, to the girl in front of her, whose silky hair was hanging in front of her face ever so slightly.  
Charlie's voice noticeably jolted Zari, the fork in her hand dropping to the table as she snapped back to reality. She looked up to see Charlie, a wave of confusion hitting her face as she wondered what she was doing here, but it soon passed, leaving Zari with the same look of angst that she had had all night. 

‘Hey, you okay?’ Charlie queried, after seeing the look on Zaris face, as well as the untouched food in front of her. 

‘I’m fine.’ Zari replied sternly, whipping her head down to avoid having to look at Charlie.

‘Z, you’re clearly not. You’re not even eating, and the Zari Tomaz I know would never pass up the opportunity for a good snack.’ 

Zari let out a small laugh at the remark and her lips curved up into a small smile as she properly looked up at Charlie for the first time since she walked into the kitchen. Her eyes lingered on the other girl's eyes before she spoke back, getting a sigh from Charlie in response.

‘It’s nothing. Seriously, I’m fine.’ 

‘Alright then, I guess I’ll take your word for it- but for the record, I don’t believe you.’ She announced, standing up from her chair and finished the last bit of water in her glass before putting it in the sink and making her way back to her room. ‘Although, if something ever is up and you want to talk, you know where to find me, yeah?’ 

‘Charlie.’ Zari called out ad the girl opened the door to leave. ‘Stay?’

Charlie stayed by the door for a moment before nodding slightly and closing the door, returning to the kitchen island, this time taking a seat next to Zari. The two of them sat in silence for a while as Zari fiddled with her hands nervously and continued to avoid eye contact with Charlie. Whatever was up, it was big, and Zari was clearly scared by it, so instead of pressuring her into talking, Charlie just let them bask in the silence between them until Zari decided she wanted to talk. After about 5 minutes Zari finally spoke up, her voice quiet and her eyes fixated on the table in front of them.

‘Today, Sanjay, he uh, he tried to latch onto my obvious distaste for like, emotions, and being honest about them.’ She started, her nervousness causing her to stumble over a couple of her words. ‘I mean, I can’t blame him, out of all of us I’m probably the easiest to use as a manipulation tool for what he wanted.’ 

She stopped there, allowing the start of what she was trying to say be out there, out in the space between them. Both Charlie and Zari were silent for a few moments before Zari gathered the courage to carry on.

‘He thought he’d cracked me, you know. Thought he’d managed to successfully get into my head which, yeah, technically he did, but not in the way he thought he did, you know. He got it all wrong. Not about everything about me, about how I push down feelings and think they’re dumb.’

Charlie let out a soft laugh at Zari’s comment as she paused to catch up with her thoughts and to steady her breath.

‘It’s okay, Z. You can tell me. I know emotions are dumb and gross and you like to keep them deep down where no one can see them, but sometimes it does you good to just let them out into the open. That way they can be dumb and gross elsewhere, not just bottled up in that head of yours.’ Charlie said reassuringly, wanting to make sure that Zari felt as comfortable as she could before she carried on. Charlie knew she was nowhere near as close to her as she was with some of the other legends, but it didn't take a genius to realise that this whole thing, opening up, being honest about what was going on, it didn’t come easily to Zari. The girl beside her took a deep breath before nodding as if to nudge herself on.

‘All of that was right… but, but what he put in my head? That was all wrong. Sanjay was wrong because, I don’t want to be with him, or _Nate_, not in the slightest… He was wrong because the person I really want to be with? It isn’t him, or Nate, it’s… it’s you.’ Zari blurted out, her voice significantly lowering in volume as she spoke the last sentence. 

Zari couldn’t bring herself to look up at the girl next to her after she finished talking. She couldn’t bring herself to look up at Charlie and see her face, that was probably confused and shocked by Zaris sudden confession. She knew that from this point on she had probably ruined the relationship she had with Charlie because there was no way these feelings were reciprocated. Hell, Charlie probably hated Zari now, hated her for destroying their friendship when they had only just gotten over their constant arguing, and suddenly feelings of dread and regret filled up Zaris chest, suffocating her as she thought to herself, _why couldn’t I have just kept my mouth shut?_

Charlie sat with her breath caught in her throat and her mouth so wide open that her jaw was almost hitting the floor. Her mind replayed Zaris words over and over again, so much that Charlie became lost in them.

_’The person I really want to be with? It isn’t him, or Nate, it’s… it’s you.’_

Charlie could barely breathe, let alone reply to Zari, who was sat with her head hanging even lower than it had been all night. She had always known, from the moment that she saw Zari, that she felt something more than the petty ‘hatred’ she had for her, and Sanjay's presence had only confirmed that for her. Earlier that night, when all of the legends were discussing their dreams, she stupidly blurted out that hers was about Bowie in a desperate attempt to avoid admitting her dream was about Zari. 

‘He may have been wrong about you, but he wasn’t wrong about me.’ She blurted out, forgetting that Zari didn’t know that what she had said earlier was a lie.

‘I just told you that I’m into you and your response was to tell me that you’re into Bowie, not me?’ She asked with a soft, but nervous laugh, finally looking up at Charlie.  
When she saw that the girl in front of her wasn’t angry, or shocked, or confused, it felt like all the air was returned to her lungs, and that she could breathe again, and her lips curved upwards into a smile.

‘No, I uh, I may have lied earlier.’ Charlie started, suddenly getting nervous despite Zari having just confessed her feelings. 

‘My dream was about you, actually. I just had to come up with a random name, I wasn’t just going to announce to the whole team that I had a sex dream about Zari Tomaz.’

Zari choked in shock as she turned bright red at Charlie's comment, before looking at her with a smirk and teasing her in response.

‘You had a sex dream about me? That's so embarrassing’

‘And you just told me that you wanted to be with me, I’d say that's just as embarrassing.’ Charlie mocked back in response. 

‘I did, didn’t I.’ Zari laughed delicately, her smile increasing in size with every moment she spent looking at Charlie.

‘Yeah, you did.’ Charlie answered softly, looking down in attempts to hide how much she was blushing as she reached out her hand and intertwined it with Zaris, which was resting on her thigh. 

‘Well,’ Zari said as they sat together, hands intertwined, in comfortable silence for a few moments.

‘I say we make that dream of yours a reality.’

Charlies head shot back up to see Zari looking at her with that same smirk on her face, and her eyes dropping to Charlie's lips with a small bite of her lip.

‘I think that's the best idea you’ve had all day.’ Charlie said before Zari got up off of her chair to move closer to Charlie, sitting down on her lap and straddling her legs around the girl's waist as she leant in and did what she had been dreaming of long before Sanjay had come around. 

Charlie's lips were soft on Zaris, and she tasted better than the still untouched pecan pie ever could have. She could feel the warmth of Charlie's hands on her hips through the thin silky material of her robe and had pulled her in so close that their bodies were pressed together, leaving no room for air. Charlie moved in her seat and stood up, moving her hands to the exposed skin of Zaris thighs to pick her up before sitting her on the kitchen island and tracing her hands further down her thighs as she stood between Zaris legs. As Charlie's mouth moved to Zaris jawline, and slowly moved further down to the delicate skin of her neck, just beneath her ear, Zari reached for the tie on her robe and slowly undid it.

Seeing Zari in front of her, in nothing but matching black lace underwear and a silk robe that was barely hanging off of her shoulders was almost too much for Charlie to handle. She was a vision.  
Charlie's thoughts were interrupted by Zaris hands cupping her face, her dainty hands soft on Charlies skin.

‘You okay?’ She asked softly.

‘Never been better. Charlie whispered so only Zari could hear. ‘Just taking in the view.’ 

Zari gave Charlie a goofy grin before gently pulling her in and planting gentle kisses on her cheek, then further down her neck and chest whilst she unbuttoned Charlie's sleep shirt. When all of the buttons had been undone, Zari grasped her hands around the material of the shirt and pulled Charlie on top of her as she lied back on the counter beneath her.  
Charlie's hands roamed down Zaris figure as her lips did the same, leaving kisses down the length of her torso, her hands smoothly pulling Zaris underwear down to her feet as she went. She looked up at Zari with a hunger in her eyes as she kissed her way up her inner thighs. One of Zaris hands ran through Charlie's hair whilst the other one was stretched out above her head.

Teasingly, Charlie returned her mouth from between Zaris legs before the girl beneath her could finish to her mouth, the taste of Zari still lingering on her lips. 

‘My room, now.’ Zari purred as she leant towards Charlie's ear, gently pushing her up and brushing her hand through her hair, getting it out of her face.

‘Yes ma’am.’ Charlie responded, her voice low, before following Zari to her room and shutting the two of them off from the rest of the waverider.


End file.
